New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1887-09-11
VATICAN AND QUIRINAL
A RECONCILIATION NEAR AT HAND-tH"
pORAI, POWER FOR THE POPE.

t'"oA - ROME. August ~.
Events have recently taken place here "ni.n
are Of such extreme importance thai 1ne ""'-
aspect OF Italian affairs is altered tnereoy' "A
row ord nowerful factor has made its appear
once in The poltical arena and is likely 10 pay
a considerable part in the future history Oh tne
Kingdom. Ever since King Victor Emmanueis
entry into Rome in 1870 all true Cathohcs n"
been prohibited by the Vatican from "' ,.Hs
themselves in any way Of their electoral ir"o
and have consequently been debarred from u 80,
any part in either parliamentary OF
life AS the Italians and especially Si| ond
people are exceedingly dcvout ana rens s,i,, 90
ms the influence of the village priest ID So -
-, aa,,s ~ wore, the effect OF this III
,,,ct;o, on tho mart of Plus TX. was TO Keep "ii
e.. ..or,,ative element, and in fact an ehoiinOo'
80 ., electors away from the POLLS Az hi''
tb;s ro,cv Of abstention, inauguratcd oy ohc '"'0
Iontia in n basty moment of pique ana "hso,,
racoi,ed on the head Of its originator s,noo
served to strengthen the cause OF the
and to silence opposition 10 the oo0'
TYn;,od Italy In the course Of few years, now
ever the Radical element which, united unuer u'0
leadership of Garibaldi and his heutenoh'S' n.N
horne Victor Emmanuel to Rome, spht up liz"
various factions, just as has been 1he e"Se VI w
Republican party in France During tne pas, VI,
wears the more advanced OF these sectioiis nov
been gradually growing In numbers ana lnnu.noo'
and the moderates have had hard ngn1 u ue,ent
the throne and the dynasty against the grauu"i
.nnroochments NJ republicanism and socialism
leo VII. has for some time past been a.'el'
t;velv watching the increasing dificuiues winch
NAV nossbIy in the long run ovcrwhelm the Mug
and his Government, and in May last he evioeh'y
considered that the time for action had arri'eo'
Accordingly he issued an order wltlidra"'ns hi'
predecessors injunctons concerning uhe hon-p
tieipation of the faithful in political cohtes's' "
instructed the priests throughout the country :"
encourace their flocls to take part In the muh1oi
M, and parliamentary elections. The result VI
Ibis move On the part of the Holy Father was nop
Iono in making itself felt. On the 18th OF june
last an important municipal eiecuoh uooh pi''0o
at Rome There were no fewer than Iour on,
twenty seats in the city council 10 DC p"io.' -
for. and when the votes had peen ouiy poi'u
was found that In every case the candidates OF
the Vatican party had been victorious ana 'i'"'
not single Liberal or Radical had been eiec'eo'
TYs rospIt WAS all the more significant, inasmuch
ms the latter had adopted the words Roma III
tanpibelen ono surrender of Rome to the Pope
as their warcry. Similar municlpai eeo"oi'
followed shortly afterward at Naples Palermo
Milan. Genoa and Venice. with precisely inc same
result-namely, victory all along the line lor
the Vatican nominees. 1t must, moreover oe
taken into consideration that the inhabitants OIL
the great cities of Italy are far less devout ana
religious than the country people ana peasahuy'
and that therefore still more startling resuOs arc
likely to be obtained at the next parliamentary
general election.
Having thus at the most propitous moment i'iu
the foundation of powerful clerical party III
parliamentary and municipal life, it became ncces-
xxr-ift
furnish them with a policy. With this OBJECT
in view the Pope in his allocuton to the assem-
b,ea Cardinals ON the ED of May last for the
first time gave public utterancc to his earnest
desire for a reconciliation between the Vatican
and the Ouirinal few days later The user
vatore Romano which is the official organ OF the
PontiH, contained editorial article IL wmch the
following remarkable sentence occurred: Let no
one accuse the Pope OF being desirous oil the rum
of Italy-nol the ruin of Italy Will never como
from him He has no wish to establish his power
on the ruins of any nation. and least OF all Oh
thosc of his beloved country. On the contrary
the Holy Father opens his arms wide to that much
loved country and appeals TO 1t TO come 10 an
understanding with the Church. Ills greatest
desire in life is that the Italian Government should
seek TO bring about a reconciliation between
Church and State 1t would not DC difhcult 10
ACCOMPLISH this if only the latter were willing"
The allocution and the article just referred .
created AN immense sensation throughout Europe,
and in particular of course in Italy. As soon as
Tho excitement on the subject had somewhat sub
sided. the question very naturally arose as to the
tenor of the terms on which the reconciliation
couId be brought about. 1t was especially neces-
sary that the newly constituted clerical party
should be made aware Of the Pope's views on the
subject, in order that they might become &C
oua,nted with the aim which they were TO strive
TO attain In short, the broad principle OF the
existence of O desire for reconciliation being cs-
tabhshcd, it became necessary that they should
know the minimum of conditions on which the
Vatican would consent thereto.
II was with the view of meeting this demand
for information that the Pope issued his famous
letter Of the 18th of June addressed to Cardinal
Rampolla del 1indaro on the latter's assumption
OF his duties as Papal Secretary OF State. Far
from being in contradiction with Leo Kills pohcy
of reconciliation has been enormously asserted
it was entirely in unison herewith, and consti-
tuted the necessary complement of the anocutlon
of the 23d of May In this letter the Pontiff
asserts that he can accept no reconciliation with
the Italian Government which does not comprise
for basis the establishment of certain amount Of
TEMPORAL power The dignity and independence
O; the Holy See, he says haze necessarily to be
acknowledged and secured. He needs perfect
independence and freedom in the exercise OF his
spiritual prerogatives. That freedom he solemnly
pronounces can be effectively guaranteed by terri
torial sovereignty alone. The Papacy must be
above and beyond those sharp vicissitudes which
take place in the life of nation. Many countries
which to-day enjoy constitutional monarchy are
tomorrow a republic subject TO dictator.
There is no reason to suppose that Italy may not
90 through vicissitudes like those Of France or
OF any other nation. The Pope the trustee
of tremendous interests cannot be subject to the
risks of political accidents. The document Is
remarkable in the fact that for the first time
Leo XIII. distinctly abandons the claims OF the
Papacy for restitution OF its former possessions.